US Ambassador Mike Huckabee on Thursday called out antagonists accusing Israel of persecuting Muslims and Christians by closing Jerusalem holy sites, in particular the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Huckabee noted that the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, was also closed due to the risk posed to worshippers by ongoing Iranian missile fire, a fact conspicuously missing from the accusations.

On Monday, an Iranian missile exploded over Jerusalem, with debris falling on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Armenian Patriarchate, the Jewish Quarter, and the Temple Mount.

Those “safety reasons” are Iranian regime ballistic missiles fired over Jerusalem.

Today shrapnel fell on the Temple Mount.

If there had been public prayers, there would have been no time to seek shelter—and this hot metal from the sky could have killed someone. https://t.co/JHB3qwmfiR pic.twitter.com/vBYqVJRDu9

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) March 16, 2026

A large missile fragment landed in the courtyard of of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and Huckabee pointed out there would have been casualties had Israel not closed the holy sites.

⭕️ Temple Mount, Jerusalem—Shrapnel from Iranian missile lands near Holy Sites https://t.co/RX8vp6kVXT pic.twitter.com/iDRg2Xn9dD

— ZIONS OF ISRAEL (@Israeli_Sniper) March 16, 2026

It is common for Palestinian religious leaders, both Muslims and Christians, to misrepresent Israeli restrictions as efforts to “Judaize” Jerusalem and persecute religious minorities. In this particular case, the Palestinian Authority claimed Israel had closed the Al Aqsa Mosque atop Jerusalem’s Temple Mount to enable Jewish Passover sacrifices, without mentioning the threat to worshippers from Iranian missiles.

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